"The spelling of Scotch as whisky is a modern convention as there are many advertisements from the 1900s for both 'Scotch whiskey' and 'Irish whisky' and the Royal Commission on Whiskey 1908-09 includes the 'e' throughout its definitions" (MacLean's Miscellany of Whisky, 2004: 16). MacColl wasn't prone to acknowledge National or spelling predudices.